Skilled Niles rolls over Eddies

January 13, 2009|STEVE LOWE Tribune Staff Writer

NILES -- After just four minutes of play Monday night at Niles, the inevitable outcome was clear. The only question was by how much. The Vikings girls basketball team opened the game against visiting Edwardsburg with a 16-0 run and led 30-2 by the end of the first quarter, on their way to a 67-19 non-conference victory that clocked in at just under an hour. Nichole Sly led Niles (6-2) with 13 points, Baysia Cox had 12 and Jenna Grannell added 10 points as 11 of the 12 Vikings who played found the score sheet. "We told the kids that (Edwardsburg) could not keep up with our transition game,'' said Niles coach Patrick Touhey. "Quite frankly, we had more skill players than Edwardsburg." Behind an aggressive first-quarter press defense, Niles forced 10 turnovers in the opening period and hit 21-of-38 from the field. Edwardsburg failed to score at all in the third period as Niles opened up a 49-point lead. Steffany Streb scored 10 points to lead the Eddies (1-7), who were coming off their first win of the season last Thursday over River Valley. "Niles plays a great defense," said Edwardsburg coach Nicole Cartwright, whose starting lineup included two freshmen and a sophomore. "In the first half, we were plagued with turnovers." The Vikings shot 51 percent from the floor (29-of-57), out-rebounded the Eddies 40-18, forced 22 turnovers and went on separate runs of 17-0, 16-0 and 14-0 in the first half. "With all due respect to Edwardsburg, in a game like this, it's so easy to get caught up in being sloppy and not having a lot of energy,'' Touhey said. "I was very happy with our kids in that respect." NILES 67, EDWARDSBURG 19At Niles EDWARDSBURG (19): Leslie Boyles 0 0-1 0, Emily Kozinski 2 1-2 5, Steffany Streb 3 36 10, Mariah Murphy 1 0-0 2, Nicole Brooks 1 0-2 2. TOTALS: 7 3-9 19. NILES (67): Bryanna Cramer 1 0-0 2, Lindsay Craig 2 2-2 7, Alyssa Pingel 1 0-0 3, Autumn Lucero 2 0-0 5, Maureen Craig 1 0-0 3, Rachel Smith 1 0-0 2, Kaitlyn Touhey 0 0-0 0, Nichole Sly 6 0-0 13, Kaleigh Hill 4 0-3 8, Maggie Ernsberger 1 0-0 2, Jenna Grannell 4 2-3 10, Baysia Cox 6 0-0 12. TOTALS: 29 4-8 67. Edwardsburg2111119Niles304960673-point field goals: Niles 5 (Pingel, L. Craig, Lucero, M. Craig, Sly), Edwardsburg 2 (Kozinski, Streb). Shooting: Niles 29-of-57 (51 percent), Edwardsburg 7-of-33 (21 percent). Rebounds: Niles 40 (Cox, Ernsberger 7), Edwardsburg 18 (Kozinski 8). Turnovers: Edwardsburg 22, Niles 12. Fouls: Niles 14, Edwardsburg 6. JV score: Niles 60, Edwardsburg 12. Records: Niles 6-2, Edwardsburg 1-7.